Today’s story is a double transformation, taking place right in the heart of it all!
The very heart of Playa del Carmen’s downtown is the point where the oldest main access road from the highway (Juarez Ave.) meets Fifth Avenue and the beach. Fifth Avenue, the little park nestled between Fifth and the beach, the upscale Mexico beachfront for sale, the quaint mission-style church, the nearby modern outdoor plaza – all of this is beautiful with that romantic European-style atmosphere that Playa del Carmen real estate has become famous for.
Yet, only a short block and a half away – back from the beach – you feel like you’re in a different world – at least up until very recently.
This area was the original village of Playa del Carmen that grew up around the ferry dock to Cozumel when tourism first began to grow about 40 years ago. This village wasn’t designed or built for tourism; it was built for the local workers employed in the tourist “district” (which at that point was the ferry dock and a tiny strip of Fifth Avenue that was just beginning to gain a reputation among those who were waiting for the next ferry.)
When Playa del Carmen boomed during the 2000’s, this little community suddenly found itself in the very heart of a thriving tourist city. Everything around it was designed and built for either tourism (the growing Fifth Avenue, the new ferry dock and plaza, the ritzy hotels in Playacar Phase I) or for comfortable expat lifestyles (north downtown, Little Italy, where the luxury Quadra Alea Condos are located, Playacar Phase II and its golf course, large, modern supermarkets).
Yet, the image and style of the original village (which had become the south half of downtown) remained essentially the same. The little changes that did take place were probably not for the better. As values downtown rose, many of the original families left for less expensive communities, and many of the homes were left unkempt or somewhat haphazardly converted into shops for the locals. While the area never became dangerous or even dirty, what had once been at least “quaint” had become closer to “unsightly” by the 2000’s.
Tomorrow we will see how a new transformation has been taking place …
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